Editorial: Growing your own food

Honolulu City Councilmember Kym Pine has only a few more weeks in office, but that’s not stopping her from promoting some novel ideas about growing food.

Her package of proposals — three bills and a resolution — show good intent: to encourage more home-grown produce, both on farms and in neighborhoods. But some of her proposals are, well, unusual, and they have met predictable resistance.

Resolution 20-293 seeks to allow farmers to set up multiple tiny houses on agricultural properties. It aims to address the lack of affordable housing for farm workers.

The three bills would encourage people to grow produce where they live: In new community gardens on private and public property, and even on those narrow strips of land along city-owned sidewalks.

The latter proposal, Bill 83, sounds intriguing; imagine strolling down the street, past rows of kale, lettuce and cherry tomatoes grown by your neighbors. Of course, city officials see all the potential problems: big, unkempt plants bearing fruit and vegetables, blocking views, interfering with vehicles and hindering access to utilities.

Bill 81 would give limited tax breaks to private landowners who convert some of their property to gardens, allowing neighbors to grow food for their personal use. Surely that could be a good way to make otherwise idle land more productive. But can the COVID-challenged city afford a tax break now? Not a good time, says Manuel Valbuena, acting director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Serv­ices.

Finally, Bill 59 would require the city parks director to identify city lands that could be used for new community gardens. The city has 10 such gardens now, mostly in urban Honolulu, and they are popular — waiting lists to get a plot are common. Pine wants more such gardens in West Oahu, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

There’s something rewarding about digging in the dirt and growing your own produce to eat — especially in these constricted times, when food is expensive, the economy is shot, and with so many Oahu residents living in a mostly concrete jungle. Starting a garden, even a small one, is an expression of optimism, an anticipation of good things ahead. It’s also outdoors, the healthiest place to be in this pandemic.

Pine’s proposals to expand agriculture may not survive the new Council, which convenes early next year. But let’s hope the idea takes root and starts to grow.